Book review by David A Hollick of Heads and Tales, a History of Badsey Schools, by Maureen Spinks, in The Midland Ancestor, the Journal of the Birmingham & Midland (Staffordshire, Warwickshire & Worcestershire) Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, Volume 14, No 2.
The first reference to a school in Badsey was in 1658 and it was probably that of John Sheppard who was granted a licence in 1662 but there is no record as to how long this school existed. By the mid-18th century, a Baptist school had been founded and on 1st November 1854, the United Badsey, Aldington and Wickhamford National School opened to pupils for the first time in a newly-erected building.
The research for this book has obviously been a labour of love and has taken some seven years to bring to fruition but the work, and the wait, has been well worthwhile. This is a very detailed and illustrated account of school life, social and sporting as well as academic, in the village over the years up to the present day. It also gives the reader an insight into the development of the school systems in England, as well as the complexities of the political and social pressures which teachers and staff have had to adapt to over time.
There are literally hundreds of names mentioned, pupils, parents, teachers and local residents which are easily accessed from a comprehensive index. This is undoubtedly a book that anyone with family interest in Badsey will find irresistible.